


Solving for Lagrange

by celsius



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Post Ep 12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-28
Updated: 2013-10-10
Packaged: 2017-12-27 20:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/983020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celsius/pseuds/celsius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or, how Rei learned to stop worrying and live with Matsuoka Rin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A Lagrange point is a position where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses provides the centripetal force required to orbit alongside them.

Rin started texting Rei four days after the race, while Rei was in the middle of working through an especially tricky physics problem. 

The end of the competitive swimming season had provided Rei with a good opportunity to re-focus on his studies. For now, he could put aside the technique books and training videos, and re-discover older, dearer friends, who had been waiting patiently on his bookshelf all this time. Physics was beautiful in a way that swimming didn't try to be. It was a science of perfect force and infinite balance, bloodless and pure. 

Unlike telecommunications. Which involved Rei's phone vibrating obnoxiously across the surface of his desk.

Rei picked his phone up, in case the text was important. 

_hey r u busy?_

Rei checked the name of the sender, pushed his glasses up, then checked the name of the sender again, nursing the vain hope that the characters would change if he looked at them under a slightly different focus. Rei knew it was cowardly but he didn't have another round of confessions in him this week. Everyone already put their cards on the table back at the competition. 

It was Thursday evening. Rei ought to be busy. 

_Yes, sorry._ Rei texted back. 

Then he turned to a blank page in his notebook and dove back into the symmetry of his equations. 

+++

Rei honestly thought that would be the end of it. He didn't know Rin Matsuoka very well, but from what he'd observed, Rin had a tendency to run hot and cold. Rei was sure that whatever mood had driven Rin to contact him would be forgotten in the morning. 

He was wrong. 

"Ne, Rei-chan, was that your phone?" Nagisa said. 

Life after the swim meet was the same as life before it, except when it came to the particulars. In a way it felt like Rei'd just picked up a new set of prescription lenses. The world hadn't truly changed, but his vision had shifted, revealing new and disorienting details.

Haru smiled for no reason in particular. Makoto's shoulders relaxed when he sat down. And Nagisa-- as usual, Rei couldn't figure out Nagisa. For some unfathomable reason, Nagisa had decided to lay a fresh new siege against Rei's personal space. 

That was why Nagisa was sitting close enough to hear Rei's text alert go off.

"Yes, that's me," Rei said.

The phone chimed a second time while Rei pulled it out of his messenger bag. It took him a few seconds to juggle both the phone and his lunch. 

"Oooh, who's texting you?" Nagisa crowded up behind Rei, leaving his own bento on the grass.

_what about tonite_

_ai wants to go see captain harlock_

_seijuro will come too if guo does_

_u like nerd movies four eyes_

"It's Rin," Rei said. He lifted his phone up and out of Nagisa's grabbing range. "He's… organizing a movie outing? Apparently."

Rei suppressed an unbecoming huff. Rin didn't come off as a big social planner, but what did Rei really know about Rin's normal temperament, or about the way any of them would be now, really. 

Makoto gave Haru a look.

"This is why you need to start being more careful to leave your phone on, Haru. Rin thought the only reliable person to text here was Rei."

"You're reliable," Haru told Makoto.

"My family won't pay for unlimited texting."

"Hey, what about me?" Nagisa said. He popped up onto his knees and wrenched the phone out of Rei's hand. "I'll tell Rin-chan we'll all be there!" 

Rei's collar felt strangely constricting. He belatedly realized that Nagisa had grabbed the back of his shirt with his free hand. Rei hoped the shirt didn't wrinkle; it would be awful walking around like that all day. 

"I have a--" Rei said.

"We'll aaaall be there!" Nagisa repeated. Rei's shirt pulled tighter against his clavicle.

"No, I really can't." Rei choked out. "I'm supposed to take the train to visit my grandmother on Saturday. I have to get to bed early." 

Or else he'd get horrible unsightly bags under his eyes, which lead to creases, which led to worry lines. The next thing Rei knew he'd be an off-brand version of Makoto; less careworn and well-loved, more haggard and run-down. 

He told himself this because it was true. 

"Come on, Rei-chan, we--"

"It's fine." Makoto put his foot down. He was smiling his usual smile, which you could read almost any kindness into. Today the smile said he was being _understanding_. "Whatever you need to do, Rei. We'll still be here when you get back."

Rei was suddenly, irrationally exasperated with his friends, for perhaps the first time since he'd met them. They were wonderful people who had shown him so much about passion for sport. They never could look an issue in the eye and name it aloud for what it was. It was no wonder that their science grades were so poor when they refused to define their variables. 

Well, Rei'd made a choice, and his choice was not to let this situation be ugly. There wasn't much he could do to make it graceful as well. 

"Thanks," Rei said. "Let me know if you want me to pick you up anything from the city."

Nagisa slumped against Rei's back in an affected pout. 

"Don't think this means I'm giving back your phone before school's out. I forgot to charge mine." 

+++

The six o'clock train was noisier than usual. A group of girls were headed into the city for a day of shopping, and the coach car was filled with groggy chatter as they finalized their battle plans. Occasionally some of them glanced over at his seat. Soon after, they would burst into a flurry of whispers. 

Rei hunkered down with his textbook. He didn't care what anyone said; his purple star-patterned scarf was gorgeous and drew attention away from the unsightly mole on his upper neck. 

Rei was half-way through a description of conflicting gravitational forces when his reading was interrupted by the scent of light perfume. He looked up to see a vaguely familiar girl standing in the aisle. Her chest jutted annoyingly close to his nose. 

"Hi! Hi, you're Ryugazaki Rei, right? Maybe you've heard of me. I'm your senpai, Takatori Miu."

"Senpai." Rei nodded. "Can I help you?" 

"You're on the swim team, aren't you?" 

Rei pushed his glasses up. 

"I travelled with them to the regional meet," he said, because there was no harm in being not-quite-affirmative with someone who didn't even know them, and in the moment, he felt like being a little peevish and unfair. 

Rei was tired and he wanted to read. After that he wanted to see his grandmother. And after _that_ he wanted to go out for sushi, take the train back home, and get a good night's sleep. It was an easily achievable dream, if only the world would accommodate him. 

Miu fidgeted and looked over her shoulder at her friends. The other girls burst into giggles. One of them gave her a thumbs-up. 

"Well, we were wondering…" Miu hemmed and hawed, "I mean, if it's you, you'd obviously be able to tell." She made a strange motion with her hand. "So we were wondering if Makoto and Haruka in our class are…uh…"

Rei was rescued by the sound of his phone. 

"Excuse me, I need to take this." He fished the phone out of his messenger bag. "It could be my grandmother. She hasn't been well."

Miu slumped. Rei thought she might be relieved to have an out from whatever dare her friends had put her up to. 

"Ah, of course, please forgive me."

For a moment, Rei's mood rallied. Then the girls' conversation got louder, the train clattered angrily over the tracks, and he realized that he'd gotten another text from Rin Matsuoka. 

_so i hear yr a health nut_

_full night beauty sleep lah di da_

_wouldn't have pegged running as yr style four eyes_

Rei didn't have to take that from someone who was probably messaging him this early because he'd already been out training. Or from someone who'd spent the past five months deliberately avoiding three lovely guys who obviously adored him. 

As a boy, Rei'd never been good at coming up with snappy comebacks against all the kids who'd teased him, and as a teenager, he didn't dignify those people by responding to them. But texting was different. 

Rei slugged back some tea and threw caution to the wind. 

_Is that so?_

_Based on everything I've heard about you, I would have thought you'd be a lot more charming._

He glared at the screen of his phone and willed new pixels to come into existence. Thankfully, Rin didn't disappoint him. 

_wow fuck u too mate_

The words were oddly satisfying. 

With that bit of childishness out of his system, Rei put the phone down on his seat, and started to fish around in his bag for a pair of ear-buds. He needed to test out some new ringtones to find one that fit Rin. He wasn't going to be caught off-guard again. 

+++

Sunday found Rei sprawled out in front of the television in a shameful state of sloth. His glasses were smudged. His hair was messy. He was wearing a pair of comfortable cargo pants that looked as though they'd travelled through time from nineteen ninety-six. One of the buttons on his polo shirt was slightly loose. 

It was going to be a good day. 

Rei spread stacks of looseleaf paper out in front of him -- piles of notes from class, and his extra-curricular readings -- and broke out his pack of multicoloured stickies. His notes were going to be gorgeous. Soon, everything would be in its proper place. And then he could start reading ahead! Oh, it had been months since he was able to do that in the classes he cared about.

Overhead, the television screen flickered with images from an obscure satellite channel that Rei's parents paid for so long as he stayed in the top five on his exams. Men were throwing javelins, flexing their broad, bared shoulders in efficient arcs. Rei occasionally paused his project to observe them. There was a time when it wouldn't have been so bad to be one of them. 

To Rei's credit, he wasn't at all taken aback when the background noise provided by the (English) commentators was drowned out by a throbbing dubstep from his phone. 

_u saw that right_

_that was bullshit_

_crawford shoulda won_

Rei looked up from his texting application and did a double-take at the television. A handsome caucasian man was stalking dejectedly away from the javelin pitch. Some quirk of the wind had pushed his throw back into second place. Rei thought it a shame. On replay, he could see that the man didn't have much of a head for geometry, but that he compensated for it with raw force. There was something appealing about a primitive style like that. 

_You're watching the track and field at the Commonwealth Games?_

_yyy_

_aussie team + my old school for aussie sports_

_i know some guys durr_

_And you've assumed that I'm watching the Commonwealth Games?_

The reply didn't come right away.

_well aren't u?_

_Crawford twisted his sternum on his turn. The power in his throw couldn't overcome the native wind shear._

_We can't see the exact angle, of course, but from the way those flags are blowing it's fairly easy to come up with an educated guess._

_lol nerd_

Rei rolled his eyes and nothing and continued on with his project. He was running low on yellow stickies. He was going to have to change his colour for chemistry citations to pink. 

+++

Back at school the next day, Rei couldn't shake a strange feeling of dread that had nothing to do with note-taking. His mind kept travelling back to the way Rin had texted him about a track competition out of nowhere. No matter how many times he re-lived it, it didn't make any sense. What could this person possibly want from him? Not a showdown, surely. He'd been far too thrilled about getting to swim with his team again to give Rei any grief about that. 

Rei sincerely hoped that Rin wasn't working himself up to an apology. He couldn't think of anything more excruciating. He didn't want anyone on the team to tell him they were sorry for something they should have no regrets about. Their race was the kind of moment that should be frozen and framed for future generations. 

Rei was daydreaming his way through literature class when the vibration of his phone put him out of his misery.

_ramen the cheap place 8 tonite_

_or ill tell nagisa to make you_

Rei paled. If Nagisa got involved with this, he'd probably find himself talked halfway to transferring to Samezuka before the day was over. He should have remembered that Rin Matsuoka swam to win no matter what. 

He checked to make sure that the teacher wasn't looking his way before typing a message. 

_Fine._


	2. Chapter 2

It was a good time of year to go walking by the waterfront. At eight o'clock, the sun was setting, and the insects had scurried off to hide from the chill. 

Sadly, Rei was too busy squinting at a screen to enjoy the way the light spilled over the ocean. 

_where r u??_

_Nagisa insisted we go to the gym after school, and then I had to drop some papers off at home. I live on the other side of town._

_zzzzzzz less type more walk_

_I'm five minutes away._

Rei pocketed his phone and picked up the pace. Not because Rin had pestered him, but because he hated tardiness on principle. 

The cheap ramen place was two blocks back from the harbour, near where the fishermen brought their catch for processing. It was a hard and empty part of town. The warehouses had been built for bigger, better days, when the catches were still plentiful, and a man could support his whole family from the back of a boat. 

Rei tried to avoid the area as much as possible. He already knew that he wasn't going to stay in Iwatobi past high school. One day he'd leave this place behind, and the friends he'd made here… would let him. 

A bell jangled over the door when Rei entered the shop. Three weathered men sat at the bar, hunched over steaming bowls of soup, while Rin sat to the side at a cheap plastic table. He and his fitted Adidas tracksuit looked about as out of place here as Rei did. It was fortunate that the shop regulars were preoccupied with the television in the corner, which was blaring out that evening's baseball game. 

Rin cocked his head towards one of the chairs. 

"The gym?" 

Rei frowned at the idea of Rin directing him, but sat down anyway.

"Sensei decided that this was a good time to get the caulking on the pool replaced."

"Hmph. They've changed." Now Rin was frowning too. "Getting Haru to go out of his way for dryland conditioning used to be like pulling teeth." 

"It's not bad to step back from the water for a while," Rei said. "We were playing catch-up after the district meet. We neglected our strength and cardio in favour of refining our starts. Now we have to build up better fundamentals."

Rin gave him a good once-over, then snorted. "No shit, Sherlock." 

Rei could have said a lot of things in response to that. He could have asked why Rin felt that was necessary. He could have told Rin that intimidation tactics were a waste of time now that Rei had declined to fight. He could even have salvaged his pride by declaring that Rin felt threatened by his abilities. 

But saying those words would have meant causing a scene in the middle a shop full of dockworkers, which was possibly why Rin had invited him here in the first place. 

Rei slid his glasses up the bridge of this nose. 

"What's this about, Rin?"

"The shrimp ramen here is incredible. When I was in Australia I would have throttled a koala for ten minutes in this dive." Rin spread his hands out in a magnanimous gesture, like a sultan offering alms to the poor. "Now you'll know how great it is. You're welcome."

"Don't be obtuse," Rei snapped. 

"You're telling _me_ not to be obtuse?" Rin snapped back, mood turning on a dime. "Makoto said you were supposed to be some kind of rocket scientist, so I don't know why you're having trouble getting this. I am _trying_ to be your friend!" He stood up and slapped his hands down on the table. "God, I don't know why I listened to--"

"Listened to who? Haruka?" Rei stood as well. 

The odds of Haru intervening in his social life were vanishingly small, but Rei couldn't think of anyone else who might have given Rin ideas. Presumably they had casual conversations? Occasionally? 

In the time it took for Rei to process that mental image, Rin had smoothed his hair, sat back down, and acquired a phone. 

"Can you shut up for like two minutes please?" Rin said. "I'm texting Ai for less shitty advice."

Unbelievable. 

"You're telling me that your underclassman put you up to this." 

"Hey, don't act like you know me." Rin hunched defensively over his phone. "I can do nice things for people who've done nice things for me, no problem."

"Then why are you sending your underclassman an angry text?" Rei threw his hands up. 

"What did I say about shutting up?" Rin started typing.

So much for not causing a scene. Rei felt the eyes of the dockworkers on him, reducing him down to his component parts like he was a tuna on the chopping block. The attention had an immediate chilling effect. 

What was Rei doing? This was so stupid. Rin was, in his own way, making an effort, and Rei didn't have any evidence to suggest Rin's actions were a form of mockery. He knew perfectly well how excruciating it was, trying to make overtures of friendship when it felt like everyone around you was fluent in a language you were never taught. It was why he'd been willing to throw away his track trophies for the chance to chase the Iwatobi Swim Club. 

Rei exhaled, gathered his strength for a moment, and then mustered up a smile. Now that he knew the facts it was only right to put Rin out of his misery. 

"Listen, Rin, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not necessary," Rei said. "I don't need or want anyone's pity." 

Rei sketched a quick bow to the man behind the counter on his way out. 

"I'm sorry for the disturbance."

+++

Rei had a quiz on Tuesday afternoon, so during the lunch break, he brought out his colour-coded notes to make their big debut at the library. There was something deeply satisfying about seeing his work laid out before him in rainbow order. He was almost loath to start reviewing. 

"Yikes, Rei-chan. You forgot to leave some table for me!" Nagisa flopped down in the chair beside Rei, and shoved the orange pile to one side in order to accommodate his dog-eared notebook. 

"Ah, sorry. I'll get all this out of your way…" Rei leaned over Nagisa.

"That's not important." Nagisa tugged Rei back down before he could start re-organizing. 

They were seated so close that their knees knocked together. Rei hoped that he didn't still smell like cigarette smoke from last night's visit to the ramen shop. He was normally very confident in his personal care routine, but even LOccitaine en Provence's Shea Butter Verbena Body Soap for Men did not work miracles.

"Did you know, Rei?" Nagisa continued at a stage whisper. "Rin heard that our pool was closed for the week, so he said that we could come to Samezuka on Thursday night. Not for real training but… it'll be good to get back in the water, ne?"

"I'm glad that all of you will get to swim with Rin again so soon," Rei said, and meant it. 

He'd never seen anyone so happy as the four of them were after that race. Returning to the crumbling facilities of Iwatobi High School would have been a harsh come-down after such a high. 

Nagisa pulled a face. 

"You never really swum at Samezuka, did you? It's exciting! You should get excited. Rei--" 

Nagisa's train of thought derailed when his eyes visibly caught on one of Rei's papers. He snatched the document up with both hands.

"Wait, did we learn that?" Nagisa shoved a sheet full of diagrams into Rei's face. "I don't remember learning that. Is that on the test?"

"Purple isn't for schoolwork," Rei said, before Nagisa could work himself into a panic. "This weekend I was watching track and and it prompted me to take a closer look at the javelin event. Calculating the arc of a spear may seem a little primitive, but when you consider the forces in the originating throw, it's actually very complex. The human body isn't as simple as a canon or a bow. Kou could probably tell you how many muscle groups are involved."

Nagisa had reclaimed the paper while Rei was talking. He traced his index finger over one of Rei's charts. 

"You've put a lot of thought into this," Nagisa said.

"It's been a while since I worked with wind resistance, but the underlying theory comes back quickly." Rei flashed a quick smile, pleased with himself. "I had fun." 

Rei wasn't sure what was so alarming about that, but it caused Nagisa jump up and grab his backpack. Evidently the quiz wasn't much of a priority for him now that the threat of bell curves had passed. 

"Haha, Rei-chan sure does have lots of hobbies and interests! Like his old track team!"

"Well, yes?" Rei blinked up at his friend.

"I need to go find Haru-chan and Mako-chan about a thing. I'll see you again in class."

Rei shook his head and returned to gathering his notes. Several of the nearby students murmured their relief, and as much as Rei liked Nagisa, he couldn't really blame them. No one was ever much impressed with Nagisa's idea of a quiet study hour. 

+++

Rei thought very little of Nagisa's behaviour until he was intercepted by Haruka in the hallway that afternoon. It wasn't unusual for Nagisa to go haring off on some scheme without consulting anybody, but Rei could count the number of times that Haru had approached him between classes on one hand. 

"You watch track and field." Haru stood squarely between Rei and the door to his English class. Naturally, he didn't bother with a greeting.

"That's right."

"Nagisa said so." Haru nodded to himself, as though he'd just confirmed a key piece of secret intelligence. 

Rei waited for him to get to the point. 

"Why?" Haru eventually continued. 

Haru sounded so confused about the appeal of sports other than swimming. Rei was charmed, in spite of himself. He admired his senpai a great deal for having such single-minded passion. Rei knew he was a dilettante by comparison, flitting here and there in pursuit of the poetry of motion. 

But he wasn't going to get into that with half the student body rushing past them. 

"I like track and field," Rei said. 

Haru reached his hand out. Rei nearly jumped back on reflex, until he saw that Haru was holding something.

"Uh…"

It was one of the hand-carved Iwatobi-chans. 

"You lost yours," Haru said. 

'Lost' was not an accurate description of the fate of Rei's original Iwatobi-chan. It sat at the back of his desk drawer where he could treasure its homey, rough-hewn lines, and never, ever wear it. 

Haru stood there looking at Rei. Rei took the Iwatobi-chan and put it in his pocket.

"Thanks?"

"Hm."

Haru darted off with the flow of the crowd. Once Rei was certain that Haru was gone, he ducked around a corner, pulled out his phone, and started furiously thumbing through his contact list. 

_What did you tell Nagisa about last night!?_

+++

Rei got his answer several hours later, when he was all decked out in his lavender flannel pyjamas and getting ready to sleep. The dubstep ringtone added an unusually aggressive element to his regular bedtime ritual. 

Rei smeared on his moisturizer and walked back to his room to check his messages. 

_wtf_

_NOTHING_

_do u think i have a death wish_

He turned down the lights, settled in beneath the covers, and wondered what he should say. If it was true that Rin hadn't told Nagisa what happened, then that made the situation a lot more uncertain. Rei honestly didn't know what drove the Iwatobi Swim Club when they weren't chasing after their prodigal friend. 

Rei's comforter was warm and his pillow was soft. Perhaps he should try not thinking about his friends for a while. 

_I was bored so I ran some figures. You might want to let your friend Crawford know that he won't be going to the Olympics if he keeps relying on instinct._

The ringtone went off again just as Rei was about to set his phone on the nightstand. 

_i said i knew some guys on some teams_

_not that were friends_

Rei stared at the message for what felt like a long time. By the end his eyes were starting to smart. 

_Ah._

_c u thurs_

+++

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this story was only going to be two chapters long.
> 
> Then I remembered how much of the plot of _Free!_ is about teenaged boys being dumb.


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday passed by far more slowly than Rei would have liked. He'd been counting on a nice, productive, standard-issue schoolday to help him find his bearings, but he kept sabotaging himself by composing more articulate replies to Rin's last text message in his head. 

Kou dealt the final blow by calling an emergency club meeting to disinfect the pool storage shed. Apparently Nagisa went in there looking for his water bottle and heard a mouse creeping around. 

"I don't see any signs of a nest behind this stuff." Makoto pulled a stack of kick-boards off of one of the high shelves. Haru ducked beneath his arms to check for dust on the shelf below it. "Are you sure it wasn't a stray cat, Nagisa?" 

The pool storage shed was a cramped space for four teenaged boys to fit into, but somehow they all managed to shuffle around one another while they worked. It helped that Makoto and Haru already had plenty of experience doing housework in tandem. 

"I know what cats sounds like," Nagisa said. "If there was a cat in here, don't you think it would be trying to pounce on Haru-chan? He always comes to school smelling like he's been cooking mackerel."

Haru set down his bucket of soapy water. He then held up his hands for examination, as though he were searching for the residual spirit of mackerel in the creases of his palms. 

"Hm," Haru said.

"It was probably a good idea to do this in any case. Some of this gear's been around since Coach's team disbanded." Makoto grimaced. "Can plastic foam get mould?"

"Here." Haru produced a cloth that Makoto could tie around his face in order to avoid inhaling toxins. Since Makoto's hands were full, he stuffed it in Makoto's back pocket. 

"Thanks, Haru." Makoto moved to stack the kickboards outside. 

Nagisa's contribution to the proceedings involved shuffling dustballs back and forth with a broom. His cleaning duties rarely involved actual cleaning, lest he cause an even bigger mess. 

"I didn't notice that we had pool buoys in here," Nagisa said. "I wonder if we can use this stuff in our new training schedule. We should use this time to talk about what we're going to do together! I'm getting fired up."

"I'll swim free," Haru said, unnecessarily. 

Nagisa ignored Haru in favour of draping himself over Rei's shoulder. "Rei-chan? What about you?" 

Regrettably, Rei hadn't been paying much attention to the discussion. He was still stuck on that text conversation with Rin. He couldn't forgive himself for allowing such a significant lapse in his personal aesthetic. 

Rei strove to marry ineffable style with technical perfection. He did not strive for _ah_. There was no place in his world for a formless syllable devoid of content. Books always talked about the value of wordless understanding, but Rei wasn't equipped to achieve something like that.

"Earth to Rei-chan!" Nagisa snapped his fingers in front of Rei's nose. His voice sounded slightly shrill. "Don't you want to talk with everyone about your form?" 

Rei noticed that he'd been wiping down the same section of wall for the past three minutes. 

"Pardon?" Rei said. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs from his mind "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else. These walls are filthy -- I'll go see if Kou knows where to get more rags." 

Rei detached himself from Nagisa and left the shed in search of fresh air. 

+++

Rei didn't have far to travel, since Kou had set herself up in a deck chair near the entrance to the pool area. She claimed that she wasn't available to clean because she had to work out how damage their hotel bill had done to the team budget. 

Rei noted that the coil notebook she was scribbling in -- 'Swim Team Budget' -- was covered in doodles of little cartoon men lifting weights. He also noted that Kou didn't have a calculator with her. He decided not to ask. 

"Kou, do you know where to find some extra rags? I don't want to steal from the classroom cleaning supplies." 

Kou clapped her notebook shut.

"Hm, maybe check with the basketball team?" Kou said. "I know their manager and she says they're always dealing with scuff marks on the hardwood." Her voice dipped into a conspiratorial murmur. "She might be exaggerating, though. I think she likes getting those guys to scrub for her. Her last boyfriend dumped her because she always wanted to pick where they went on dates, it was really sad."

Rei wasn't Nagisa or Makoto, so he had no idea what to do with that comment. He chose to press manfully onward. 

"The basketball team should still be practicing," Rei said. "I'll go over there right now."

He took all of two steps towards the gym before Kou's voice stopped him in his tracks. 

"Hey, I know it's none of my business, but…" Kou lost momentum for a second, then rallied. "But if it's okay: can you tell me what's going on with you and my brother?" 

Rei turned on his heel, astonished. He hadn't thought Rin would mention the ramen shop incident to his sister. 

"It's only-- you've got a big brother too, right? So you know how it is," Kou pressed. "I worry about him. He was gone for so long, I never know what he's thinking." 

Rei looked down at the pool tiles. He _really_ hoped that Rin hadn't mentioned the ramen shop incident to his sister. 

The seconds stretched out painfully, as though reprimanding Rei for being such a fool. 

"He said he's trying to be my friend," Rei admitted. 

"Oh my god. Seriously? That's great!" Kou lit up. She must have seen something strange in Rei's reaction, though, because her expression quickly turned to a wince, then settled on a funny little grin. "I mean, I'm so sorry. I mean. I'm so sorry, but that's great?" 

"Ah."

Ugh, not again!

Rei died a little inside while Kou, oblivious to his plight, tapped her pen against her cheek and conducted some sort of internal deliberation. 

Finally she nodded towards the shed. 

"Speaking of worried… Nagisa's a little worried about _you_ , you know."

"I see." Rei felt his cheeks grow warm. "I did wonder if it was something like that." 

Still, it was always good to find evidence confirming a hypothesis. Now the last thirty-six hours of his life made a lot more sense. 

"Kou, would you mind looking into those rags? I need a few minutes," Rei said. 

Kou made a big show of thinking things over. She swung her legs over the side of the deck chair and raised her arms up, stretching her back. Her head bobbed from side to side as though she were physically surveying the options before her. She even made a loud hmmming noise.

Rei had known that Rin and Kou were siblings, of course, but only now was he struck by the fact that they were _related_.

"I gueeeeeess," Kou said. She stood up with a groan, as though it took a great deal of effort. "If I hear anything squeak, you'll regret it next time I plan practice, Mister!"

"Thanks, Kou." 

Rei wandered outside of the pool enclosure and pulled his phone out of his pocket. 

+++

Finding a private place to text was surprisingly complicated. Rei didn't use his phone that much, since Haruka and Makoto barely touched theirs, and Nagisa's texts were almost completely incomprehensible. He'd had no idea how easy it was to start in on a sentence, only to find that you'd made yourself a roadblock for half the school. 

After several frustrating minutes in the school quad, Rei took shelter out near the recycling area. It smelled burnt plastic and sticky glass bottles. 

All the more reason for Rei to get on with it. He did not pause when typing or pressing the send button. He had standards to uphold even when no one was watching. 

_You should know I'll be stopping by an hour early tomorrow._

Rei entertained the thought that Rin was in the pool, or studying, or doing just about anything other than holding his phone. He could be stuck out here for quite some time, fending off the stares of passing students. 

Thankfully, the universe was not that cruel. 

_like hell u are_

_i have a life sry2say???_

_stop randomly showing up at my school_

Rei sniffed and held his phone tighter. Someone probably _was_ staring at him by now, since this was a pretty odd place to be hanging around by himself. Rei was glad he changed into his new windbreaker. 

_Be reasonable. Showing up early isn't the same thing as showing up without an invitation._

_Especially since I've just given you notice._

The phone leapt angrily in his hand, drumming out its displeasure. 

_omfg_

_r u for real_

_r u a real person_

_I'm relatively certain. It hasn't been proven conclusively, but I think therefore I am, correct?_

_The human brain has conceived of incredible art, science and philosophy. Something that sublime must be real._

_thats it_

_im throwing my phone in the pool_

_goodbye forever_

Rei's glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose. He looked to the sky and let gravity slide them back down. 

Maybe he'd never be as important to his friends as Rin was. Maybe their races with him would never mean as much as their reunion with Rin did, and maybe he'd always stand outside their shared history. Maybe they wouldn't make it past their first competition next year. Maybe they'd all part ways when Makoto and Haruka graduated and Rei would only ever see them when Makoto bothered to update his Facebook with cute pictures of his siblings. 

Maybe, though, Rei needed to stop pretending that none of that mattered so long as they were happy. Maybe he needed to change too. 

Maybe he didn't have to be in a relay to accomplish something beautiful. 

_Did you wish you could be part of one of those teams, down in Australia?_

_Is it easier or harder, being different because you're Japanese instead of being different because you're yourself?_

_always personal questions w u_

_k were making a deal_

_b/c i am a great senpai BE GRATEFUL_

_u talk sports only_

_i don't have security boot u from samezuka_

_That will fine._

Makoto, Nagisa, and Haru usually tuned out his amazing theories, and goodness, Rei really _did_ like sports. 

+++

The Samezuka facility was truly gorgeous in the evening. Starlight filtered in through the big bay windows, softening the fluorescence of the emergency lights. The water in the pool was still as glass. 

It was no wonder that Haru started disrobing immediately upon entry. 

"Haru!" Rin called out, getting up and jogging over to the entrance. He and Rei had been watching his laptop on top of the removable diving platform. 

"Rin."

Haru's legs tanged in his jeans, Rin's proximity slowing his progress towards the water. Rei paid it no mind. Haru was Haru, and so these things were to be expected. Rei was better off turning his attention his other two friends. 

"Rei? Is that you?" Nagisa rocked back on his heeds. 

Rei decided to make his way over as well. The trip took a good thirty seconds, which gave Nagisa time regain his balance and shrug off his jacket. 

"We weren't sure you'd be here," Makoto said, shouldering his gym bag. 

Rei was about to explain himself when Rin spoke up. Evidently his moment with Haru had passed. Haru was already kicking his shoes off towards the wall. 

"This fucking guy," Rin complained, parking his hands on his hips. "I cannot believe him. How is he real."

"You can stop saying that any time," Rei said. "I very clearly--"

"Oh no no no. You don't start! Not after that crazy bullshit about the shotput! I didn't need to know your thoughts on Luke Samson's arms, which by the way, do not look like that in real life." 

"I'm sorry, am I missing something?" Makoto stepped up on behalf of Nagisa, who appeared to be choking on something. 

"We've been texting since last week," Rei explained. 

That wasn't much of an explanation at all, really, but Rei had an image to rehabilitate, and he had no compunctions about editing out the embarrassing parts of that story. Which was to say, he had no compunctions about editing out _all_ the parts of that story. Editing was a key aspect of aesthetics. Every photographer knew so.

"Since last week," Nagisa repeated. 

"Yes." 

"So that's why you were distracted." 

"Yes, that's right." 

Nagisa leaned forward and pinched the fabric of Rei's sweater vest. He was smiling very sweetly, but he showed no teeth. 

"Whoa, Rei-chan, is this a new?" 

"It is." Rei smiled. "It's merino wool. I got it--"

"That's not what we wear swimming, Rei-chan." Nagisa interrupted Rei by shoving him, fully clothed, into the pool. 

Two weeks had passed since Rei was last in the water. Then, he'd been dressed in jammers and a swim cap. Now his his briefs clung uncomfortably and his new sweater vest was going to smell like chlorine. The heavy fabric of his trouser pulled him drown, ruining any chance of achieving a graceful stroke, and Rei was only dimly aware Haru floating nearby. He flailed blindly to try and grab his glasses. 

Rei'd been nervous about what practice would be like when it started up again. He thought that maybe that was why sensei took pity on him and hired some contractors to make repairs. She didn't have to. It would have been more efficient to wait for the break. 

But it turned out that swimming with his friends was easy after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually done a few days ago, but I had some trouble uploading due to the server load from the Yuletide exchange. Oh well. Better slow than never, right? 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this to the end. I'd love to know your thoughts!


End file.
